


You and I and No One Else

by greedy_dancer, Hllangel



Category: One Direction (Band), Radio 1 RPF
Genre: Audio Format: M4B, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Community: pod_together, Embedded Audio, M/M, Podfic, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 20-30 Minutes, outside perspective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-22
Updated: 2014-08-22
Packaged: 2018-02-08 17:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1950042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greedy_dancer/pseuds/greedy_dancer, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hllangel/pseuds/Hllangel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five people who have seen Nick and Harry together over the years. (Audio + text).</p>
            </blockquote>





	You and I and No One Else

**Author's Note:**

> Created for pod_together 2014. 
> 
> Writer's disclaimer: This is a work of fiction based on the lives and likenesses of real people. If you are one of them and you're reading this, I'm very very sorry.

cover by hllangel

 

> **Length:** 30 minutes
> 
> ****Download:** **[MP3](http://bit.ly/V9wVns) (right-click and "save as") or [Audiobook](http://bit.ly/1sqFskd)

 

**1\. September, 2012**

> [ **Audio Clip: Gemma Cairney and Liam Payne, Radio 1 Takeover, 6 October, 2012.**  
>  **Gemma:** Do you hang out with Grimmy ever?  
>  **Liam:** Yeah, we do. He comes down to a few things with Harry. We see him often.]

Liam wants to be happy for Harry, really he does. He likes Nick, is the thing. Nick is a right laugh to be around, and his life is actually as ridiculous as theirs is sometimes. And Harry just lights up around him, too, which is always something to see.

It's just that, well, Liam knows how people work. He's been on tumblr and that's all fine and good (so long as he never has to see it), but it's not the real world. Liam knows the real world is full of mean people and bullies. Harry already spends too much time on twitter searching his name, and the aftermath of that is bad enough.

What if this actually got out? It could kill them. Not just Harry, but all of them. The whole band.

He watches as Harry immediately cuddles into Nick's side as soon as they get a bit of a break, head on his shoulder and an arm slung around his waist as Nick shows him something on his phone. They're laughing quietly together, heads bent close, a conversation clearly not meant for anyone else, for all that they're surrounded by what sometimes feels like a million people.

Lou comes up behind him and starts messing with his hair, putting pieces back in place after they've been blown about by the wind.

"Sweet, aren't they?" she says, nodding over at Harry and Nick.

"Yeah," Liam agrees, because they are. Nick has tucked his phone away and is reaching up to mess with Harry's hair, and Lou hurries off to intervene before it gets too messy. (Not that Liam can usually tell the difference.)

They are sweet, he just wishes the world would see it that way, too.

 

**2\. October, 2012**

> [ **Audio Clip: Ian Chaloner talking about producing LadsFM  
> ** **Nick:** Ian had to produce us together.  
>  **Ian** : It was _the_ most stressful day of my entire life, I actually had to have a sleep after. Those two together are like proper schoolkids, giving each other dead arms the whole time. They get along well.]

Ian's been at the secret broadcast location for about an hour by the time Nick shows up, Harry in tow. They're not alone, but they might as well be, since they're pressed close together and laughing at something. He's only been working with Nick for a short time, and he hasn't properly met Harry yet, though they've been emailing a lot coming up with the plans and playlists for the show.

Matt had warned him, though. Told stories from his few months on Nighttime with Nick that really did sound like war stories sometimes. Ian's having trouble matching the perfectly professional and prompt emails he's been receiving from Harry with the look of exasperation on Matt's face when he talks about it. Even if Matt really does like Harry underneath all the bluster.

Ian very quickly learns what he means. Nick sits down at the switchboard easily enough, playing with the faders to get a feel for the strange desk. There's an extra mic set up right next to Nick, and Harry pulls up a chair, scooting it ridiculously close to Nick's own, and elbowing him in the side while Nick is trying to set up.

Ian's got his own checklist to cover before they go live, so he busies himself with that, and then introduces himself to Harry formally, since Nick's utterly failed.

"Good to finally meet you in person," Harry says, knocking Ian's offered hand out of the way and going for a hug. And okay, Ian can easily see how that charm is deadly to most people. But he's got a job to do, so he waves Harry off and continues down his list.

"Five minutes," Ian warns them, and they both look up at him. They've gone over the script, and the playlist is lined up so they are ready to go once Gemma hands things over, but they don't look ready. Their headphones are discarded on the table in front of them, and they're leaning close together again.

By the time they get to Which Direction, Ian is way more exhausted than he should be for having produced less than two hours of a mid-morning show. Neither Harry nor Nick can keep still, and Nick is constantly nearly late back to his seat for links, though that's nothing new, really. What is, is Harry following him in and out of the studio, over to talk to Louise and all the other people that have come in to watch.

From Matt's stories, it was always Harry being unprofessional, but as Harry's trying to introduce the game, Nick is all over him. They've hardly looked away from each other the entire time, but now, Nick has an arm slung around Harry's back, and is pinching his side while Harry's trying to present.

Ian can only watch from the other side of the desk as Harry breaks free and attempts to capture Nick's hands in his own, while he's still talking, and his voice only gives it away a bit.

> [ **Audio Clip: Excerpt from Which Direction, 6 October, 2012**  
>  **Harry:** No no no, you stop that.]

Nick manages to last the length of another record and two clips before he breaks down again, this time going for Harry's ribs as Harry tries to get the game back on track.

> [ **Audio Clip: Excerpt from Which Direction 6 October, 2012**  
>  **Harry** : Clip number 3 please! Clip – clip number 3, please?]

The game, and then the show, descend into chaos, but luckily they're coming up to the end.

"Come on, now," Ian says, watching as Harry gives Nick a dead arm while smiling smugly at him, having won some argument they were having between links.

"LADS!" Harry shouts, reaching over to hit Nick in the same spot again. He gets up out of his chair and makes to come around the desk, possibly for Ian, but Nick manages to snag a belt loop and pull him back, into his own lap.

Harry doesn't move, just twists so he can smile down at Nick fondly and ruffle his hair. He does move back for the last link, but Nick finishes the show with his hand around Harry's waist.

Ian will have to ask Matt about that part later.

 

**3\. August, 2013**

> [ **Audio Clip: Scott Mills Show, August 2012. Scott Mills, Chris Stark and Matt Fincham play a game with Google autocomplete.**  
>  **Scott** : So I've got some for you here: 'Does Nick Grimshaw –'  
>  **Chris** : There's a really obvious one there.  
>  **Matt** : I can only think of filth with this.  
>  **Chris** : 'Does Nick Grimshaw like – '  
>  **Matt:** Oh no. … There are certain things that you think of aren't there?  
>  **Scott** : I can really think of one.]

It's just gone four in the morning, the party's still going strong, and drinks have been flowing all night. He’s definitely more than halfway to drunk, but he’s fine! Just needs the toilets, really.

He stumbles through the door – it’s bloody dark in there, and- “Oh shit, sorry, mate!”

The door’s not locked but someone’s in an open cubicle- Wait, is that Nick Grimshaw?

Yep, definitely Nick Grimshaw, leaning back against the wall with his head tipped back and some other guy attacking his neck. Shit.

Grimshaw’s smiling, his hands in the other guy’s belt-loops and it looks like they’re grinding together, what with how close together their hips are.

Sounds like they’re talking, too, and… Fuck, it’s that bloke Harry Styles.

He’s heard the rumours, of course, they’re hard to escape these days, but he never thought he’d walk in on it. Shoreditch House’s great but it’s still a fairly public space.

They don’t even look up though, so he takes his piss in the next cubicle and washes his hands. Maybe he should warn them – can’t be the only one who’ll need come in here tonight.

He’s about to say something when he catches motion in the mirror, Harry Styles going to his knees in front of Grimshaw, who’s now got a hand in his hair.

He just leaves instead. Clearly they’re not paying attention to anyone else right now, and this is a private club. Members have kept other secrets.

 

**4\. February, 2014**

> [ **Audio Clip: The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, Access All Areas, 7 February 2014.**  
>  **Fiona:** Are you crying because Harry called you?  
>  **Nick:** Yes, I'm crying because Harry Styles called me. Yes, Fiona.  
>  **Fiona:** Ooh, alright, stroppy pants!]

Technically, the pre-show meeting starts at six. In reality, it starts whenever Nick arrives, but since both Fiona and Matt are always in the studio early, they can have their own production meetings ahead of schedule.

Today, Matt’s come in bursting at the seams with excitement, which is unusual for a Monday morning.

"I've got an amazing idea," he says.

Matt's ideas aren't always actually amazing, but the way they work is that everything goes on the table and they toss things out as needed. It's an evolving process.

"Alright, then. Tell me."

"We need to set Nick up on a date for Friday."

"I don’t think he’s been that complainy?"

"With a listener, I mean," Matt says. "For the show. Have people call in and tell us why they want to date him."

For all that Nick complains about being single, and he does it very often, she's not actually sure how true that really is.

Still, after the show, she and Ian wander out to the store and buy a cheap phone and enough credit to get it turned on.

"You sure about this one?" Ian asks. He sounds as doubtful as she does. And he probably knows more than she does as well.

"Not really, but Matt's excited."

Nick is generally up for anything they throw at him, and she loves that there are so few things in his life that completely shut him down. There’s still a tiny bit of dread in the pit of her stomach about it, but she can't articulate it well enough to keep Matt from going ahead with the feature.

She's proven right on Friday morning when Matt bounces in, waving his phone in front of him.

"You'll never guess what I've got," he says.

When it comes to the show, there are only a few things that get Matt this excited, so she's pretty sure of what she'll find when she looks.

Sure enough, on Matt's WhatsApp is an open conversation with Harry Styles, and an attached audio file.

"You didn't!" She hits play.

"Hi, My name is Harry," comes Harry's voice out of the tinny iPhone speakers. "And you won’t answer my calls these days, so I’m leaving this message, um, hope that’s alright. I'm from Cheshire, I'm twenty years old, and I think I should be your Valentine because I think we've got the same sense of humor, and we like the same things, and we both hate being alone. I- I know I travel a lot for my work- but I just want someone to come home to. So my house isn't quite so empty. So, uh, call me sometime. And um, Matt, please edit this for radio, yeah? Okay, byyyye.”

Oh, _shit_. Fiona doesn't know the details, but she knows there’s been tension between Nick and Harry for the last month or so. Sees it in the slight frown of Nick's mouth on days when he can't put his phone down for texting. In the way he's been overly touchy about Harry's name being mentioned on the show. He's told less stories about Harry lately, even in the studio during songs. She hasn't asked what it's about, but she guessed it was something big. Now it’s obvious it is.

"Matt, you can't play that."

"Why not? I asked Harry to record a message for fun and he did."

"Did you even listen? He's saying Nick won't take his calls and asking you to edit. That's not a fun prank for the radio. That's real. Have you not noticed they've been fighting?"

"They talk all the time. Harry called during Access All Areas the other week. And they spent the last hour texting after."

"He answered an unknown number, it’s not the same. This isn't a silly message. It’s Harry, not Dev or Zane. Don't do this to him on live radio."

"But –"

"Don't do it," Fiona says, cutting him off. "Trust me."

Nick walks in before they can talk more, and she sees Matt slip his phone into his pocket when Nick's not looking.

> [ **Audio Clip, The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, 14 February 2014**  
>  **Nick:** What are you so happy about?  
>  **Matt:** The next song is part of your Valentines day present.  
>  **Nick:** Shut Up. So boring talking about this. It's the most obvious joke.  
>  **Matt:** This is a gift to him! I asked for it specially.  
>  **Nick:** Well here's the song Matt Fincham requested.  
>  ** _Midnight Memories_ starts playing.** ]

As soon as Midnight Memories starts playing, Nick’s whole mood goes off. He’s usually quite good at brushing things off his back but this is different. He's polite about it, of course, but it’s clear that Matt’s striking a chord here.

"Can we please stop talking about Harry?" he says. "The joke's getting old, Finchy."

"It's something people like," Matt responds.

"You mean tumblr," Nick says. "They've got plenty of imagination. They don't need you saying his name every five seconds."

It seems like Matt gets it, for once. Fiona watches as he pockets his phone, and goes back to looking at the script, crossing some things out.

They don't mention Harry's name, or Nick's Valentine surprise again.

Once they're done with the show, and Nick's off to the loo, Fiona very nicely doesn't say "I told you so," and instead steals Matt's phone and sends the message to herself, then forwards it to Nick. He needs to hear it, but not while he's around other people. She attaches her own message: _This is what your valentine surprise was going to be. You should listen. Hope it helps._

Nick never answers and he doesn’t mention it, but it’s only a couple days before she sees the pictures of the Sara Cox farewell lunch. Job well done.

 

**5\. May, 2014**

> [ **Audio Clip: The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, 22 May 2014**  
>  **Matt** : What are you going to wear when you introduce 1D?  
>  **Nick** : No idea. Me and Fifi are going shopping directly after this. We're going to go figure something out.]

Aimee barely has a chance to drop her bags in Ian's room before she's got a text off Nick telling her to come down to Topshop and help him pick out an outfit. It's total bullshit obviously; he'll have booked a personal shopper. He just can’t stand to be on his own for a minute more than he has to, that’s all.

It's a short cab ride from the hotel to the shop, and a very helpful shop girl points her in the direction of the men's department. She passes someone carrying an armful of jackets back out to the floor, and then she hears the suspiciously happy and familiar giggling inside.

"Oi, Grimmy!" She could find him easily by following the voices, but they probably need the warning more than she needs directions.

Nick pokes his head out of the door, and then steps back to let her in. He's in a saggy t-shirt and pants – typical – but what really catches her eye is the slouched figure smiling from his perch on the sofa in the corner.

"Hello, Harold," she says, making her way over.

"Shhhhh," Nick says, overly loud as always. "He's not here."

"We're doing this again, then?" She can’t stop herself from smiling though, and Harry comes off the couch to fold her into his arms.

They’re wearing matching grins, looking at each other over her head, the tall fuckers. She squeezes Harry just a bit tighter.

It's an hour before Nick's picked out his outfits for the weekend, moving in and out of the dressing room, never opening the door enough for Harry to be seen. When they’re alone, Harry gives his opinions, speaking low and quiet so they won't be overheard, and Aimee mocks them both. It feels so familiar it hurts.

Once Nick’s bags are packed up and he’s back in his stupid, raggedy too-short shorts and t-shirt, he kisses her on the cheek, and asks about her plans.

"Dinner with Ian, then we'll probably come to the square. You coming?" she asks Harry. "Or do you have places to be?"

"Have to head to Dublin tonight. Probably not a good idea for me to be seen anyway. I'm not actually supposed to be here."

"When are you back, then?" Nick asks.

"Tomorrow night, after the Dublin gig so I can get a good night's sleep before the show."

"Alright old man!" Nick teases, crossing the room to poke a finger into Harry's stomach.

Harry bats his hands away, but lets Nick into his space, close enough for Nick to land a gentle kiss on his lips, and then Harry inches closer, sliding off the arm of the couch and into Nick's space, snaking his arms around Nick's waist.

Aimee has time to send Ian a quick snapchat along with the three monkey emojis, and to get back a string of heart eyes, before they’re through.

She clears her throat, and they both look over at her, eyes bright on their twin guilty faces.

"Alright, " Nick says, with one last tug on Harry's bandana.

"Heeeeeey," Harry protests, but it's not very effective, since it just makes Nick kiss him again. Aimee just rolls her eyes. This could take a while.

Finally they break it off and Harry starts poking at the pile of Nick’s discarded shirts. "My turn," he says. "Got to find something nice for Dublin."

"You should try that spotted one," Nick says, patting Harry on the cheek. "I've got to go to auditions. Talk to you later?"

There’s something wistful in his tone, something Aimee hasn’t heard in a long time.

"Course," Harry says, looking down at his phone again and shooing them away. Aimee grabs one of Nick's bags and slings it over her shoulder as they go.

She’s desperate to ask, but she knows it’ll have to wait - Nick’s always more talkative when he’s had a few drinks.

 

They've all followed Annie to the Arches for her set, and Nick’s definitely loose and feeling no pain. Even drunk Nick usually keeps whatever’s going on between him and Harry close to the vest. But tonight he must want to talk, because she doesn’t have to pry much to get him to open up.

"So," she starts, leaning close to talk directly into his ear. It's not an ideal venue for this conversation, but she's got limited time this weekend, and she's going to make the most of it. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

This is the ritual of having real talk with Nick. Aimee knows he’s heard, but the question is a reflex, or a deflection. He always pretends he has no idea at first.

"With Harry. At the shop."

Nick shrugs, looking away. "We talked."

"Did you actually talk, or did you just suck him off and call it conversation?"

He laughs, and that’s it, Aimee knows she poked in the right place to break down his walls a little.

“Actually talked," he says. "He apologized. Said he realizes that buying a house in California was sort of a dick move." Nick pauses. "But also that he'd never meant for it to be home."

Aimee takes another drink. "What did you say?"

"Well," Nick says with a shrug. "He's still going to be gone half the bloody year, and there's no telling when it will end."

"Was that the only thing wrong, though?" It can't have just been about the distance and the house. Nick’s too practical – occasionally – not to have thought through the problems of dating the world's biggest popstar. Tour schedules are the least complicated things about it.

Nick takes a long gulp of his beer and shrugs. "There were other things, but it doesn't really matter now, does it?"

"Bullshit."

She watches as Nick bites his lip and drains the last of his drink before he turns to her, half a frown on his face. Now they're getting somewhere.

"Okay. He was young and stupid and thought he could just pop in and out and nothing would change. And I was... less young but just as stupid, and I let him."

Aimee hugs him. She's still holding a drink, so it’s a one-arm hug, but she holds him as tightly as she can anyway, and he leans into it. "And now?"

"Now we're older – well, he is older, I’m just wiser." He frowns at his empty cup before setting it down. "Come on, I'm going crowd surfing. Always wanted to try that."

 

Aimee's Saturday hangover is epic, but probably not half as bad as Nick’s. She’s wandering the grounds, waiting for him to show up when she spots Harry. None of the boys are with him, and he wanders right over to her, doing a stupid little dance, and it’s so ridiculous that she has to join in for a few seconds, not really caring about the camera crews following him around. She's used to that by now.

She goes easily when he brings her in for a hug, saying "Hiya" in his slow, drawn out way.

"Be careful with him, yeah?" she says, as quietly as she can. "Don't break his heart again."

He squeezes her tighter, just for a second. "I won't."

 

**Epilogue: June 2014**

> [ **Audio Clip: The Radio One Breakfast Show 24 June, 2014.**  
>  **Nick** : Ian, why don't you tell us about your dream last night?  
>  **Ian** : Harry Styles was in my dream last night. You were in it as well.  
>  **Nick:** Come on, do the saucy version!  
>  **Fiona:** How did Harry look at you?  
>  **Ian:** He didn't look at me, he just looked at Nick!]

Though they play up Nick’s studio antics for the listeners, Ian generally thinks Nick is a very good presenter. But he’s really distracted during Showquizness today, keeps looking down at his phone and hitting the button to see if he's had any new texts, even though it's sitting right there in front of him on the desk so he’d know if any new ones had come in.

Nick playing with his phone isn't new, he's addicted to the thing. But Nick's rush to pick up as soon as they cut to music can only mean one thing.

"Are you texting him?" Ian asks. He doesn't even need to say Harry's name, and he's pretty sure he already knows the answer anyway. “Wanna give a shoutout?”

"He’s not listening," Nick says. "Too many important popstar things to be doing."

Probably sleeping, then. Or maybe he's traveling. Ian has no idea what the tour schedule is.

Or, well, neither, because Nick's phone buzzes about two seconds later, and Nick smiles down at it, with the fond little smile Ian's seen more times than he can count now. It’s even made its way into his dreams, apparently – which is something he’d kept out of his story, earlier.

Harry hadn't looked anywhere but at Nick for the entire thing, but then, neither had Nick. Rather realistic for a dream, all told. Right down to Nick and Harry spending time deliberately annoying him. If Matt and Fiona had been there too, it would have just been a dream about work.

Nick continues texting with that fond smile on his face until Matt tells him that he's got thirty seconds left of the song, because Nick is very obviously not paying attention. He doesn't even put his mobile down as he reaches for his headphones.

 _Come on_ , Ian thinks. They've got less than an hour left, and it's Matt's birthday; he shouldn't have to work extra hard to control Nick. Ian comes around the desk, watching out for Nick going for the faders to prepare for the next link. As soon as his attention has shifted enough, Ian plucks the phone out of his fingers.

"Hey!" Nick protests, swiveling around in his chair to reach for it, but Ian backs quickly out of reach.

"I'll tell Harry you are sorry but you have work to do and that you are a very successful professional, so you have to say bye bye now.”

"I don't talk like that," Nick protests.

Nick's phone buzzes in Ian's hand and he looks at it out of reflex. Then wishes he hadn't. "Jesus, Nick, Can't you two sext on your own time?”

Nick goes red, but refuses to look away. "Give me my phone back and you won't have to see it."

The text hadn't been that bad, really – he’s walked in on far worse – but there's a time and a place for this sort of thing, and the BBC at quarter past nine on a Tuesday morning is definitely not one of them. Ian pockets the phone when Nick gets distracted by his actual job.

Nick pouts a bit, but then there's cake. Tina comes in for a slice after she's done with the news, and soon enough Nick's gone back to smiling. Especially after Fiona snaps a picture of him with cake in his mouth and posts it to twitter.

The minute they switch over to Fearne though, Nick is around the table and on Ian's back, reaching into Ian's pocket for his mobile, which hasn't stopped vibrating the whole time.

"Cheers little Ian," he says with a cheeky smile, holding it up.

"Tell Harry I say hello."

"I'm going to tell him you fancy the pants off him."

Ian just rolls his eyes and heads off to his computer. Unlike some people, who are already holding the phone to their ears and smiling that stupid fond smile again, he has actual work to do.

**Author's Note:**

> We would both like to thank Magog83 on Tumblr for providing the clips used in this project, as well as the challenge mods. Writer's and podficcer's notes on the collaboration are included at the end of the podfic! 
> 
> Thanks for listening and/or reading! We'd love to hear from you.


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